《乘物‧遊心》─ 董小蕙2013新作個展 Unfettered Heart - 2013 Dong Shawhwei New Works Solo Exhibition

「結廬在人境，而無車馬喧。問君何能爾，心遠地自偏。采菊東籬下，悠然見南山。山氣日夕佳，飛鳥相與還。此中有真意，欲辨已忘言。」 
                                 
──東晉．陶淵明〈飲酒詩〉之五

紫色的花／盛開／苦楝樹／嫩葉的顏色／靜了下來 （平井二郎）
雨罕下的／這個山麓／樟樹的嫩葉／每搖一次就聞到／隱約的香味（尾崎孝子）

「紫色的花」、「樟樹的嫩葉」、「隱約的香味」，俳句中的「季語」總是蘊含著一種人們對於幼時記憶或心靈故鄉的一種懷念眷戀之情。而這種觀物寫生的細膩心意及表現手法，亦在藝術家董小蕙的作品中，透過莊子哲學裡無為的審美情趣與思維，表露無遺。

董小蕙，生於1962年，畢業於師範大學美術研究所，以懷舊抒情的「老院子」系列與充滿哲思意涵的「黑桌靜物」系列受到國際矚目。今年六月上旬，其作品更被邀請至美國華府歷史古蹟「雙橡園」展出，讓往來的重要國際友邦人士與僑胞，對台灣的藝術和藝術家有進一步的認識。

早期赴歐美遊學，董小蕙承續了莫內（Claude Monet, 1840 -1926）、波納爾（Pierre Bonnard, 1867-1947）等印象派畫風表現；爾後專注於老莊哲學的探研，作品含蓄內斂，呈現「物我合一」的東方精神。2006年，藝術家得知所居住生活的日式平房和老院子將面臨拆遷的命運，有感於靜謐院落中各種植物隨性生長的野趣與四季光暈的變化，希望透過描繪其日常周遭之景觀，以表達其欲藉「物」以遊「心」的目的，抒發平淡幸福與懷舊珍惜的心境，體現莊子「清靜無為」的美學意境。

至今創作30餘年，董小蕙為了追求更自由的心靈空間，在技法與結構上仍不斷精進與挑戰自己，將東方傳統哲思融入以西方媒材為創作形式的藝術表現中。在構圖上，以平面性的方式將物象錯落有致地安排在畫面中，並藉由色塊、光影與線條的互動，使物象產生動態的延展。油彩「薄塗」技法的層層疊染，賦予中國筆墨性的造型效果，勾勒出豐富靈動的自然生機。畫家近年更致力於大型構圖之「拼合組畫」創作，其目的在於鍛鍊結構能力，將老院子主題朝向有如中國畫之聯屏與冊頁的混合發展形式。畫作有二連作至五連作不等，每幅畫作可獨立觀看，亦可合併串成連續性的畫面結構，產生如音樂性起伏的韻律感，象徵生命泉源的湍湍不息。對觀者而言，是一種由空間次元轉換到時間次元的視覺過程，充分展現藝術家嚴謹周密的結構能力。

藝術家表示，使用西方的媒材與邏輯結構，創造出富含中國文化底蘊的作品內涵，此正是台灣這塊土地所孕育出的文化成果。而畫家筆下的靜物，不但超脫了物象外在的描繪，轉成心靈觀照的過程，對「存在感受」的當下印證，也相應了生命樸實、單純、靜謐的實踐與追求。

展覽資訊
藝術家    ：    董小蕙
展名    ：    《乘物‧遊心》─ 董小蕙2013新作個展
地點    ：    亞洲藝術中心台北I館∣台灣台北市建國南路二段177號
展期    ：    2013年12月21日 － 2014年01月26日
開幕酒會    ：    2013年12月21日(六)  3pm-5pm
開放時間    ：    週二～週日10:00-18:30（週一休館）

I made my home amidst this human bustle,
Yet I hear no clamour from the carts and horses.
My friend, you ask me how this can be so?
A distant heart will tend towards like places.
From the eastern hedge, I pluck chrysanthemum flowers,
And idly look towards the southern hills.
The mountain air is beautiful day and night,
The birds fly back to roost with one another.
I know that this must have some deeper meaning,
I try to explain, but cannot find the words.

- Tao Yuanming (365–427), “Drinking Wine”

Dong Shawhwei, born in 1962, graduated from the Department of Fine Arts, at the National Taiwan Normal University. She is known for her nostalgic Courtyard and quiescent Still Life painting series. In early June, the Twin Oaks Estate in Washington, D.C., selected her work for exhibition. Through this exposure, important international friends get a chance to have a better understanding of Taiwanese art and its artists.

Having studied in Europe, Dong Shawhwei was influenced by Impressionist artists such as Claude Monet (1840-1926) and Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947). Nevertheless, she concentrated on studying Zhuangzi’s philosophy. Her works are imbued with a reserved and serene quality, echoing the spirit of “things and man united as one.”

In 2006, the artist learned that her old Japanese-styled house was to be demolished, and gone with it included the courtyard where precious memories were abundant. Feeling rather attached to the various plants and seasonal changes taking place in the garden, Dong felt the urge to depict her surrounding environment. Through her concentration on painting, Dong was able to attain a certain spiritual meditation and to make her mind roam freely through ordinary objects, abiding her state of being with Zhuangzhi’s aesthetic philosophy of “quiet and inaction.”

Having painted for 30 years, Dong continues to challenge herself in technique and composition in pursuit of spiritual space. She incorporates Eastern philosophical ideas into Western medium expression. In terms of composition, the artist meticulously place ordinary objects with distorted figure on canvas, and through the interactions between pigments, light and shadow, and intensity of the brush strokes, these still images seem to generate visual movement. The “thin coating” of pigment also imbues the painting with a visual affect similar to that of traditional Chinese ink-painting, giving life to paintings. Recently, the artist has been exploring larger creations, aiming to train her structural awareness. She has been expanding the Courtyard series to incorporate Chinese traditional screen painting series and mounted book form. Each painting consists of 2 to 5 panels, which can be viewed independently or together to create a lyrical continuity. It symbolizes life’s progression and propagation. For viewers, it is a transformation from spatial to temporal, fully capturing the artist’s scrupulous structural awareness.

“To create works that reflect deep Chinese cultural heritage and meaning through the use of Western medium and structural composition is a cultural achievement nourished by the land of Taiwan,” the artist said. The still life images under the painter’s brush have transcended from physical appearance into a spiritual realm. These paintings are evidences of artist’s moment of “existence” that answer to life’s pureness, simple wishes, and pursuit.

Exhibition Info
Artist:    Dong Shawhwei
Exhibition:        Unfettered Heart - 2013 Dong Shawhwei New Works Solo Exhibition
Venue:    Asia Art Center Taipei I∣No.177, Sec. 2, Jianguo S. Rd., Taipei 106, Taiwan
Date:    December 21, 2013 – January 26, 2014
Vernissage:    December 21, 2013 (Sat)  3pm – 5pm
Gallery Hours:     Tuesday – Sunday, 10:00am – 6:30pm (Closed on Monday)